Recipe: Vegetable & Shell Bean Gratin

1of9Julya Shin's Shelling Bean and Summer Vegetable Gratin with a stuffed tomato and plain yogurt is seen in her home kitchen on Monday, July 20, 2015 in Oakland, Calif.Photo: Russell Yip, The Chronicle

6of9Squash grown in Julya Shin's garden and potatoes, seen on Monday, July 20, 2015 in Oakland, Calif., are some of the ingredients in her Shelling Bean and Summer Vegetable Gratin.Photo: Russell Yip, The Chronicle

7of9Julya Shin of Penrose restaurant makes Vegetable and Shell Bean Gratin in her Oakland home with ingredients that came from her garden.Photo: Russell Yip, The Chronicle

8of9Julya Shin of Pizzaiolo stuffs tomatoes with a mixture of olive oil, kosher salt, parsley and garlic in her home on Monday, July 20, 2015 in Oakland, Calif.Photo: Russell Yip, The Chronicle

9of9Julya Shin of Pizzaiolo uses the bottom part of her oven while making her Shelling Bean and Summer Vegetable Gratin in her home on Monday, July 20, 2015 in Oakland, Calif.Photo: Russell Yip, The Chronicle

Vegetable & Shell Bean Gratin

Serves 4

From Julya Shin of Pizzaiolo and Penrose, Oakland. She serves this on its own, with just a spoonful of yogurt or a poached egg, or alongside grilled fish or chicken.

In a small pot with a lid, combine the ¼ cup olive oil and the mustard seed, coriander, fennel, cumin and turmeric. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the spices start to sizzle and become fragrant, about 2 minutes. Don’t walk away, because they burn quickly.

Add the red onions and a pinch of salt; cover, reduce the heat to low and cook until the onions are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the potatoes and continue to cook, covered, until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the slivered garlic; set aside.

“By cooking the potatoes in the spiced oil, they soak up all that flavor,” Shin says. Adding both potatoes and shelling beans to the vegetarian stew also makes it heartier and more satisfying.

2. Broiling the vegetables.

Preheat the broiler. Toss the gypsy peppers with olive oil, season with salt and place on a small rimmed baking sheet. Broil until they are nicely browned, but not mushy; err on the side of undercooked; the exact time may vary depending on your broiler. Remove the peppers to a plate to cool.

Toss the squash pieces with olive oil, season with salt and spread on the same baking sheet you used for the peppers. Broil the squash until nicely browned, but not mushy. Add to the peppers.

Although it may seem tedious to broil the peppers and squash separately, it’s the only way to ensure they don’t become overdone. Undercooking them slightly at this stage gives the finished stew distinction and texture.

3. Bake the gratin.

Preheat the oven to 400degrees.In a mixing bowl, combine the onion-potato mixture, the squash and peppers, the shell beans, chopped tomatoes, mint and basil. Season to taste with salt and red wine vinegar. Add a generous drizzle of olive oil, and mix gently.

Transfer to a baking dish. The contents should only be, at most, 2 inches deep. Place in the oven and bake until the contents are just beginning to bubble, about 10 minutes.

“I like to cook this stew for a short time in a hot oven,” says Shin, “so that it comes up to a simmer as quickly as possible. You don’t want to cook out the freshness.” In her vintage oven, she’s found the past way to make this happen is to place the baking dish directly on the oven floor.

Serve with Herb-Stuffed Tomatoes (recipe follows), a spoonful of whole-milk yogurt or a poached egg — or all three.

“You can eat the stew right away, but the next day it’s still going to taste really good,” says Shin.

Core 4 Early Girl tomatoes, exposing most of the surface area on top, with a slight dip in the center to hold the herbs. Pack the tomatoes tightly, cut side up, into a small ceramic baking dish. Season each tomato with a scant ¼ teaspoon kosher salt (this may seems like a lot but you’re trying to season the whole tomato, not just the top). Set aside.

Pick the leaves from 1 bunch of Italian parsley, and finely chop In a mortar and pestle, pound 1 clove peeled garlic until smooth. Add the parsley with the remaining salt and pound it into a paste. Mix in the just enough olive oil to make a thick sauce, about 2 to 3 tablespoons.

After the salt on the tomatoes has dissolved, place a generous spoonful of the pounded parsley garlic paste on top of each tomato. Put in a 400 degree oven until the tomatoes are just cooked through but before the skins starts to crack, about 10 minutes.

Cooking fresh cranberry beans

For 1 cup of shelled beans, you’ll need 1½ pounds of beans in the pod. Shell them, then transfer to a medium saucepan and add water to cover by a few inches. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to a simmer, and simmer until the beans are cooked, about 25 minutes. Add a generous amount of kosher salt to the cooking water and let stand until cool.

The beans can be made ahead and stored, refrigerated, in their cooking liquid. Drain before using.